Alec Baldwin, the former co-star of Tina Fey's popular NBC hit "30 Rock" may be making his return to cable. However, this time he won't be playing a character but instead hosting a news program on MSNBC.
When Baldwin, 55, ended his stint on 30 Rock, he penned a deal with NBC for another two years working with the network. According to CBS News he was originally considered to join the network's lineup of late night talk shows now that Jimmy Fallon has been announced as the next host of the Tonight Show. However, according to Mediaite, which originally broke the news, Baldwin is likely going to be headed to MSNBC to host a show at 10 p.m. on Fridays. Reports of Baldwin's potential involvement broke the same day as news that anchor Megyn Kelly will take over the 9 p.m. slot that is currently held by Sean Hannity.
Baldwin finished up the seventh season of 30 Rock playing the role of ultra-conservative Jack Donaghy earlier this year. He is nominated for the role at next month's Emmy Awards. However, Baldwin's politics are a far cry from his characters. The actor has made no attempts to hide his politics as a liberal. As the L.A. Times puts it "Baldwin would be a choice almost guaranteed to hearten liberals as much as it would irk conservatives."
Not only has Baldwin made a name for himself in the political realm, he would be no stranger to the different format presented by news broadcasting. He hosts a weekly podcast titled "Here's the Thing," where he interviews guests almost every week. As for his performance on live TV, he has hosted Saturday Night Live a record 16 times according to CBS News.
At this time sources close to the deal say that it is very likely Baldwin will be taking the 10 p.m. slot however, nothing is official as of right now.
